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The "what does machine build quality mean to you?" thread
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<blockquote data-quote="Zombie Aladdin" data-source="post: 145425" data-attributes="member: 4242"><p>Hmm, I think I'm starting to get a clearer picture. Exposed wires are definitely a no-no if I were in charge of how the machine would look, though I wouldn't say that re-using of parts is really all that bad except where they wouldn't fit. (I just thought that the mini-DMDs were supposed to be a trademark thing.) For plastic parts that should've been metal, which parts would those be? Are you referring to connectors, support structures, and such?</p><p></p><p><em>Playboy</em> was made during that same early Stern era, I believe, and while the one I've played on (at Family Amusement Corporation) is showing wear and tear, it seemed satisfactory to me. I also thought that <em>Sopranos</em>, which was made a few years after that, was of a decent quality build. I'm guessing you're refering to the safe being a plastic cube with stickers on it and the stripper on the pole whose legs seem to be missing.</p><p></p><p>Maybe growing up on McDonald's instead of home cooking, Chinese knockoffs of toys instead of the real thing, and using bootlegged material my family sends me as gifts, I am easy to please in terms of quality and never developed a good sense of it. I have to wonder, however, if nostalgia plays a part in "that visceral feeling." I have been in places like Pins & Needles, 82, Family Amusement Corporation, the Orange County Ice Palaces, and participated in It Never Drains in Southern California, and I never felt that way with the Bally/Williams tables. They felt the same to me as the Sterns. What was always most important to me was if everything works properly, if the layout was good, and if the rules were good. Heck, I wouldn't even mind plastic aprons or a plastic sheet in place of the glass covering--the latter, if done well, would functionally be better than glass, as it is less resistant to breaking and more scratchproof, big plusses when used for public play, where they'll get exposed to kids with no sense of restraint and...thugs with no sense of restraint. I also honestly don't mind having a poster printed and glued on top of the wooden board used for the playfield instead of it being silk-screened. It affects the texture, but as an artist, I...really don't like silk-screened stuff that much. (As a plush collector, for instance, I refuse to get any plushes with silk-screened faces, only embroidered faces. THAT reeks of cheap build quality.)</p><p></p><p>Hence why I wonder if nostalgia has a role in all of this--as I only started playing pinball in September 2013, I have been exposed to many different styles and approaches all at once, and I wind up treating them all the same. Actually, it took some time for me to find Bally/Wiliams Golden Age tables, as these 2001-2006 Sterns are dominant and thus my foundation on how pinball is like.</p><p></p><p>Still, I notice that even now, Stern gets that criticism from the reader reviews on the Internet Pinball Database. Are they just being snobs, then, when I'm seeing tables like <em>Transformers</em> and <em>Avatar</em> getting points docked for cheap build? (Certainly, I see no reason why they couldn't put a figurine inside the amp suit though.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zombie Aladdin, post: 145425, member: 4242"] Hmm, I think I'm starting to get a clearer picture. Exposed wires are definitely a no-no if I were in charge of how the machine would look, though I wouldn't say that re-using of parts is really all that bad except where they wouldn't fit. (I just thought that the mini-DMDs were supposed to be a trademark thing.) For plastic parts that should've been metal, which parts would those be? Are you referring to connectors, support structures, and such? [i]Playboy[/i] was made during that same early Stern era, I believe, and while the one I've played on (at Family Amusement Corporation) is showing wear and tear, it seemed satisfactory to me. I also thought that [i]Sopranos[/i], which was made a few years after that, was of a decent quality build. I'm guessing you're refering to the safe being a plastic cube with stickers on it and the stripper on the pole whose legs seem to be missing. Maybe growing up on McDonald's instead of home cooking, Chinese knockoffs of toys instead of the real thing, and using bootlegged material my family sends me as gifts, I am easy to please in terms of quality and never developed a good sense of it. I have to wonder, however, if nostalgia plays a part in "that visceral feeling." I have been in places like Pins & Needles, 82, Family Amusement Corporation, the Orange County Ice Palaces, and participated in It Never Drains in Southern California, and I never felt that way with the Bally/Williams tables. They felt the same to me as the Sterns. What was always most important to me was if everything works properly, if the layout was good, and if the rules were good. Heck, I wouldn't even mind plastic aprons or a plastic sheet in place of the glass covering--the latter, if done well, would functionally be better than glass, as it is less resistant to breaking and more scratchproof, big plusses when used for public play, where they'll get exposed to kids with no sense of restraint and...thugs with no sense of restraint. I also honestly don't mind having a poster printed and glued on top of the wooden board used for the playfield instead of it being silk-screened. It affects the texture, but as an artist, I...really don't like silk-screened stuff that much. (As a plush collector, for instance, I refuse to get any plushes with silk-screened faces, only embroidered faces. THAT reeks of cheap build quality.) Hence why I wonder if nostalgia has a role in all of this--as I only started playing pinball in September 2013, I have been exposed to many different styles and approaches all at once, and I wind up treating them all the same. Actually, it took some time for me to find Bally/Wiliams Golden Age tables, as these 2001-2006 Sterns are dominant and thus my foundation on how pinball is like. Still, I notice that even now, Stern gets that criticism from the reader reviews on the Internet Pinball Database. Are they just being snobs, then, when I'm seeing tables like [i]Transformers[/i] and [i]Avatar[/i] getting points docked for cheap build? (Certainly, I see no reason why they couldn't put a figurine inside the amp suit though.) [/QUOTE]
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